Global Courant 2023-04-26 08:19:46
SPARTANBURG, SC – The 2024 presidential election is a year and a half away. Still, several Republican presidential candidates are already making stops in key primary states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made a stopover in South Carolina on Wednesday. He talked about his work in Florida, arguing that much of what he’s done there can work for the US as a whole.
Desantis has not yet officially announced his candidacy, but many South Carolinans want to see him and former President Donald Trump face off against each other.
“Personally, I’m still in doubt,” an attendee at Wednesday’s event told Fox News.
“I’m leaning towards Trump, but I think DeSantis is a close second, and only time will tell where they both stand,” said another participant.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis poses for a photo with Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, Dorchester County GOP Chairman Steven Wright and Coastal Coffee Roasters owner Brad Mallett in Summerville, South Carolina, on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. (Ron DeSantis)
This was DeSantis’ first public visit to South Carolina ahead of the 2024 election.
“I believe that if the left is able to lead the table in this 2024 election, their agenda will be a radical one,” DeSantis told a crowd at the event, which was held at First Baptist North Spartanburg in Palmetto state.
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Nikki Haley, former ambassador to the United Nations, at an event in Charleston, South Carolina, USA, on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. Haley, a former governor of South Carolina and Donald Trump’s ambassador to the UN, announced that she would former president for their party’s presidential nomination, claiming the mantle of younger leadership. (Photographer: Sam Wolfe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The governor spoke about some of his bigger challenges, such as responding to Covid-19, immigration issues and his feud with Disney.
South Carolina isn’t just important because it’s an early primary state.
“The voters generally mirror those of Republican voters across the country,” said Robert Oldendick of the University of South Carolina.
Since 1980, South Carolina primary voters have correctly chosen the eventual Republican nominee in every election except 2012, when Newt Gingrich defeated Mitt Romney. But South Carolinians are likely to see a few familiar faces running this time.
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Former US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the South Carolina State House in Columbia, South Carolina, US, on Saturday, January 28, 2023. (Sam Wolfe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Former ambassador to the UN and former governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, has already run for office. U.S. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina is another likely candidate.
But a home field advantage is no guarantee. For example, Senator Marco Rubio challenged Donald Trump in Rubio’s home state of Florida in the 2016 primary.
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“And he lost, I believe, every county except his own and maybe a few others,” said Dr. James Wallner of Clemson University.
“As we talk about this today, Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis are also the two types of frontrunners in South Carolina,” Oldendick said.
DeSantis did not mention Trump during his speech on Wednesday. The South Carolina Republican primary will take place in February 2024.
Austin Westfall joined FOX News in 2021 as a Charlotte multimedia reporter.
